U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,498,803, 4,500,225, and 4,624,601 disclose a transferable lane barrier system for roadways adapted to be lifted by a transfer vehicle and moved to a selected position on a roadway or the like. Lane barrier systems of this type find particular application at roadway construction sites and on roadways and bridges wherein the groupings of incoming and outgoing lanes of traffic must be varied, particularly during commute hours.
Applicant's co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 196,435, filed on May 20, 1988 for "Anti-Crash Lane Barrier With Self-Centering Hinges" and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 219,320, filed on July 15, 1988 for "Pre-Loaded Hinges For Lane Barrier System" disclose systems with the ability to elongate or contract to accommodate positioning of the system varied radii on a curved roadway. Further, such elongation and contraction is advantageous when the lane barrier system is picked-up by a transfer vehicle to ready it for placement at a new position on a roadway.
The former application also addresses the problem of providing an effective lane barrier system to prevent head-on collisions and the like. For example, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and its connector, Doyle Drive, are even now using upstanding plastic posts having pins secured on their lower ends to facilitate transfer of the posts from lane to lane to accommodate changes in commute hour traffic. This system has proved inadequate for protecting against head-on collisions, as evidenced by four fatalities and numerous injuries that have occurred during the first four months of 1988.
Applicant has determined that it would be advantageous to provide a lane barrier system with the capability of being placed in tension when impacted by lateral loads such as when impacted by a road vehicle. Further, it is highly desirable to retain the capability of permitting the modules to elongate or contract for purposes described above.